PR Kit Set Up

A good PR Kit is essential to market your project, not just at the end, but ideally representing all stages of the work to show off the process and the relevance of the work. But firstly it is a glossy sales tool and you usually need the following things:

Text

All your text elements need your contact details and copyright notice in the footer. Most text doc will include the following:

1-liner – tagline, excite, intrigue, what is this about?Example: Moogy's Yuki [Moogy's Bark Canoe] – the making of the first Indigenous bark canoe in South East SA in over 100 years

1 paragraph – tagline plus essential hook, make me read moreExample: Moogy's Yuki [Moogy's Bark Canoe]:This emotionally charged 27min documentary follows Ngarrindjeri Elder Major Sumner and South East Australian Aboriginal community members on their endeavors to reclaim an important part of their culture: traditional bark canoe making.

50-100-word blurb – often needed for festivals and web entries, a short synopsis, we recommend you write the 1-page synopsis first and then condense it down to fit. Use word count to check it fits…

1-page synopsis – unpack the project, from tagline, opening paragraph to the essential 5 points – what, why, when where and how – and make it personal and give a hint of drama and urgency. There are no cookie cutter solutions for this, we recommend you use your funding proposal or first pitch as a draft, updated with the reality of the project, sometimes it can be useful to insert a VIP quote, stating how your project addressed issue XYZ…

As always – tailor your words to fit the intended user – but keep it fun, real and dramatic. No one wants to read a full re-cap of the project and how you made it, but rather why it is relevant, how it addresses their selection criteria and will it resonate with their clients …

Example: Moogy's Yuki [Moogy's Bark Canoe]This emotionally charged 27min documentary follows Ngarrindjeri Elder Major Sumner and South East Australian Aboriginal community members on their endeavors to reclaim an important part of their culture: traditional bark canoe making. This is the first time in over 100 years that someone has made a traditional bark canoe on their ancestral lands, and Uncle Moogy and his team are not sure if they will succeed to cut a huge slice of bark from a giant Redgum tree and get the surfboard-size bark down in one piece - and most importantly, if it will finally float … Along this once-in-a-life-time journey, several local Indigenous people and environmental experts address issues around caring for country, environmental issues and cultural transmission of traditional knowledge.Find out more about this Change Media cross-cultural collaboration here.

Credits – make sure to include who funded and supported you. Don’t over-do it, no-one wants to read a page full of names, but name the key funders and provide a URL to your project’s web-page where interested parties can find out more.And funders do check this, so make sure you are crediting everyone according to their input and contracts you have agreed to.

Photos

Always include 5-10 really good photos. Think headshots of key artists, expressive production shots [featuring key characters / participants, ideally front or side on, so we can see their eyes sparkle]. Always use sharply focused high quality photos, no blurry selfies, randomly shot after hours, unless dark party shots represent your project well.

Tell a story in 5-10 pics, no more. Your photos may need to be printable in glossy hi-res formats or work on large projection screens at a public conference, not just 50k pics for a web blog.And yes, ideally have someone shoot these pics during production, so you don’t have to fuddle around with photoshop screen-grabs…

Logos

Always always always include your logo and all your funder logos in a folder. Ideally offer black/white and color versions, in landscape and vertical options. Again, check your funding agreements and make sure you deliver on what you agreed to.The more professional you come across the better – and if you include good logo art work in workable formats, you won’t easily be misrepresented…

Trailer

If your time and budget allows, cut a trailer or showreel for your project, reduce it to a nice portable size [so it fits with the other downloadable PR kit items or on USB stick you can hand out]. Generally people wont watch the first 5 minutes of your one hour community video, but most will watch a funky 2min trailer that gives viewers a glimpse of the real thing. Entice, intrigue - think how movie trailers work, they often give most of the narrative away without loosing their audience.

Bios

An essential item for most festivals. You should have a bio for yourself and your key artists/ contributors on file the moment you get into production. If you struggle to write it, ask 5 colleagues what they like about you and your work – what your strengths and weaknesses are and go from there. Always include your most recent works and awards, with live [and working!!!] hyperlinks. Use a word processor to export as a workable file but also as a pdf. Make sure to include your contact details and copyright notice.

Social Media

This is your chance to really shine. Consider writing a production blog, have a selection of anecdotes ready from your participants and team members.

This can include behind-the-scenes photos, candid interviews, text, drawings, video – anything that can bring more attention to your project and why it is relevant to the users. Collect news clippings, comments, links to blogs etc and add them to your PR Kit.

Recent Project: Creating Together

We have been successful with our recent Australia Council for the Arts funding submission. We are working now with our national partners [Arts Access Victoria, Weave Movement Disability Theatre, Visionary Images, Darwin Community Arts, Nexus Arts, University of Western Sydney and Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority] to develop the roll out with... read more